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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Population Ecology Of The Diamondback Terrapin At Their Northern Range Limit, Patricia M. Levasseur
Population Ecology Of The Diamondback Terrapin At Their Northern Range Limit, Patricia M. Levasseur
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation research focuses on the population ecology of the northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) in Wellfleet Bay, MA. The northern diamondback terrapin is a Massachusetts-threatened turtle species restricted to estuarine environments. With a range from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Massachusetts, Cape Cod Bay is the northernmost part of the subspecies range. Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has been using capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods since 1980 marking over 3,000 individuals; however, low detection rates and variable search effort have resulted in unreliable population estimates not suitable for informing conservation practices within the bay. Low sample sizes, …
Patterns Of Morphological Plasticity In Metriaclima Zebra And Danio Rerio Suggest Differently Canalized Phenotypes Due To Form-Function Relationships, Dylan Jockel
Masters Theses
In order to ascertain the degree of compatibility in developmental restructuring and behavioral plasticity between two fish species frequently made subject of laboratory research (Metriaclima zebra & Danio rerio), alternative trophic niche exposure experiments utilizing novel three-prong feeding treatments were conducted to obtain morphometric data, which demonstrated both species do bear some degree of plasticity. The results are somewhat complicated by differences in locality of detectable restructuring, which may be due to disparity in the form-function relationship for each species’ lineage. Each is notable in the manner of respective species’ jaw protrusion, as it is driven by anterior …
Turning Up The Heat On The Little Things That Run The World: Evaluating The Impacts Of Climate Change On Ant Biodiversity In The Temperate Forest Communities Of The Northeastern United States, Israel Del Toro
Doctoral Dissertations
Climatic change threatens biodiversity worldwide. In the forests of the northeastern United States, climate change is expected to increase mean annual temperatures by up to 4.5˚C and change precipitation seasonality. These changes in climate are likely to have impacts on the biodiversity of the region. In order to better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, I used ants, an indicator taxonomic group, to predict how ant communities and ant-mediated ecosystem processes change as the climate warms. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I review the major ecosystem processes and services mediated by ants using the Millennium Ecosystem …